The Good Shepherd
John 10:7-18 NKJV
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who ever came before Me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
John 10:7-18 NKJV
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who ever came before Me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
This is the parable of The Good Shepherd. Jesus is saying that He is the door. We can enter into the Kingdom only through Him. Back in Jesus' time, the scribes and the Pharisees thought that they were showing the way to get saved. The people were being misled. Today there are some preachers who are leading people in the wrong direction. The enemy has come in and deceived them with false doctrines. We also have people who are impostors and don't want Jesus to be glorified. These impostors are not commissioned by Jesus. We should always be on guard and follow the True Shepherd - Jesus Christ.
The True Shepherd cares for His flock and will always be on guard to make sure the wolves don't come and devour the sheep. If just one sheep strays away from the flock, He will bring them back into the fold. Jesus says He has given His life for us (His sheep) so that we may have eternal life. In Verse 14, Jesus says He knows His sheep. That's so awesome that He knows each and every one of us by name. If you read further in this chapter, Jesus says in Verse 27-29 that "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow Me." He gives us eternal life and we shall never perish. I know I always say this but it is so good. The Word is always good and true. Jesus loves us so much that He won't let anyone snatch us out of His hand.
I know I keep saying that If we stay in the Word, be still before Him and listen to what He is saying in this hour, we won't be deceived by the enemy (the wolves in sheep's clothing). The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. He tries to destroy our hope and our visions but Jesus came so we can have life and the the victory. He gives it more abundantly - super abundant in quality. Now that's a shout! Hallelujah!
